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Monday, October 24, 2005

Another Eagles game, another week of hearing about the lack of a running game. Sure, the Eagles won the game thanks to a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown, but this game falls under the good ole Mike Schmidt rule; "The thrill of victory, and the agony of hearing about it the next day."

Simply put, the Eagles have no running game and the only player with a desire to change that is Brian Westbrook. Week in and week out we have heard the same phrase out of Andy Reid; "I've got to do a better job on that." or "We'll take a look at it this week and see what we can do."

Well, after so many years of hearing that I'm starting to wonder if there is anything they can do about it. Now the rumor is Duce Staley would like to come back next season. That's fine with me. Afterall, the grass is (Eagle) greener on this side of Pennsylvania anyway. And it would be fitting for another ex-Eagle who didn't fit outside of this team to come back (see Hugh Douglas and Jeremiah Trotter).

Anyway, it's not like the Chargers had a running game either, but that is credited to the AWESOME Eagles defense. Ladainian Tomlinson, the best player in the NFL, didn't reach positive yards until late in the game. Credit Jim Johnson and his players for a job VERY well done.

And of course, Penn State responded like a winner aftre their devastating loss at Michigan. They only played Illinois but a lot of people, including me, were expecting somewhat of a yawner. I was thinking 20 points. They scored that....plus 43. Two very important games at home now against Purdue and Wisconsin. I think Penn State must win these two games. They are now ranked #9 in the BCS rankings. While I will be happy with this team regardless of what happens in the next three games (I'm just starving for a bowl game this year), why not ride this out as far as possible? I'd love to see a Penn State-Notre Dame Fiesta Bowl. I know I'm not alone.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

You know, it's been a while since I've been to a game, but boy was the wait ever worth it.

I have NEVER heard Beaver Stadium that loud. EVER! Never before did I stand for essentially the entire game, outside of the student section, but that's what everyone was doing! Penn State football is back.

The defense is good, and I mean good. The defense would have carried the team to a national championship run if the offense could score 13 points last year. And they stepped it up against Ohio State's offense. Even when penalties rescued OSU in the third quarter three times, the defense didn't back down and came through, leading the way to a 17-10 statement victory that will be remembered by Penn State fans for a long time. It was a game in which we said, WE ARE...BACK! WE ARE...PENN STATE!

Now of course, they should be ranked in the top ten. They contro their own fate in the Big Ten (and national title?) race believe it or not. They are the only undefeated team in the conference and with Wisconsin and Purdue at home, and Michigan showing vulnerable spots, who is to say they can't run the table?

Well, I'm far from thinking this team is going to run the table. They could very well lose in Michigan next weekend and I would fully expect Michigan to come out and make a statement of their own. But I will say this, this team is fun and worth watching again.

Bring on Michigan.

P.S. The Eagles were not worth mentioning in more than one sentence this weekend.